'God will punish them': neighborhood in shock after Bloomfield Township family of 6 tied up, robbed of $100,000 in cash, jewelry WITH VIDEO

This Bloomfield Township home is the site of a shocking break-in Wednesday night. Neighbors, along with the family of six that was tied up while their home was robbed, were shocked that this type of incident came to their otherwise-safe neighborhood. The Oakland Press/JOHN TURK

At the Bloomfield Township home where a family of six was bound and robbed, a family member spoke out against the crime, saying the two masked suspects "wrapped the little child up with plastic in the bedroom.

"God will punish them."

Police say the six victims -- three generations of a Chaldean family ranging in age from 6 to 63 -- were tied up sometime before 11 p.m. Wednesday while their home at Manchester Court and Wabeek Lake Drive East was ransacked by two masked men armed with a gun and a pair of scissors.

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After the family freed themselves and called authorities, police arrived and found the front door standing open. The six residents inside told police they had been led to a bedroom and tied up by two men dressed in black. They were watching TV when the two men came in through an unlocked door in the garage.

While no one was hurt in the holdup, the suspects who entered the home were able to get away with more than $100,000 in cash and jewelry, said Sgt. Timothy Abbo. He added that a family member who came home in the middle of the robbery reported that the suspects' car -- a passenger vehicle that some media have reported as a Chevrolet Suburban -- may have been parked nearby between 9 and 11 p.m.

Police are "working the case really hard right now," Abbo said midday Thursday. "We're trying to get someone who may have seen the car to call in."

While the family said they'd like their name kept out of media reports, a niece of the family's breadwinner said the news had already traveled through the local Chaldean community and rumors had started, sparking hundreds of phone calls.

"We don't know ... whether this was an inside job or not, and we don't want anything coming back," said the niece.

Authorities said the breadwinner, a 63-year-old man, owns several businesses. His family was planning for a wedding to be held Saturday, said Sgt. Abbo. His wife, 54, his daughters, 27 and 37, his future daughter-in-law, 25, and a 6-year-old girl were all in the home while it was robbed, he added.

The incident has a strong "correlation between the fact that the (future daughter-in-law) was getting married this Saturday," said Abbo. "We do not believe this was a random act at all.

"We're treating it as they were targeted, but it's still very fluid, and my guys are out there right now" following initial leads in the break-in.

Shanta Kansara, who lives two houses away from the victims, didn't hear anything Wednesday night while her neighbors were being robbed.

"The windows are air-tight, the doors are air-tight, nothing can happen -- we cannot even hear the traffic," said Kansara, 65, who was at home Thursday while her husband -- a urologist at the Detroit Medical Center -- was away at work.

Another, neighbor who said she has known the family for years, told reporters the family are "very warm, wonderful neighbors."

"For 25 years we've been their neighbors, and our children played together. They're an excellent family. I couldn't breathe until I found out that they were OK," said the woman, who asked not to be named in this story. "I was wondering whether there was a reason for the break-in because (now) we're concerned for the safety of all the neighbors. There hasn't been a break-in I can remember in this area."

Abbo confirmed that, in fact, he does not remember a break-in akin to the Wednesday night incident in the entire Wabeek Ridge neighborhood, which is located off Long Lake Road between Franklin and Middlebelt roads.

While detectives continue to work the case, officials have released a rough description of the suspects.

One of the men is described as about 6 feet tall with a skinny build and carrying a silver handgun, officials report. The other was shorter than the first suspect and was armed with a pair of scissors.

Both men were dressed completely in black -- face masks, hats, hoodies and pants.

Anyone who may have information is urged to call the Bloomfield Township Police Department at 248-433-7755.

Staff writer John Turk covers the Oakland County Board of Commissioners, police and general assignment. He can be reached at 248-745-4613.

'A very difficult month for Chaldeans'

Members of the region's close-knit Chaldean community are reeling after the July 17 tragic Sylvan Lake boating accident that resulted in the death of two Chaldean children and now a Bloomfield Township Chaldean family that was bound and robbed Wednesday.

"It's definitely been a very difficult month for Chaldeans," said Eric Younan, director of strategic initiatives with the Chaldean Community Foundation, the not-for-profit arm of the Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce in Southfield.

Nearly 67,000 Chaldeans live in Oakland County with an additional 34,000 in metro Detroit. Chaldeans are Iraqi Christians (Eastern Rite Catholics) and Iraq's indigenous people.

"It has been touching how the community has come together to pray for the (boating accident family) Mansours and there have been several vigils at area churches.

"Thousands packed the church for the funeral for the Mansour kids," he said.

Facebook has provided people with another way to share their concerns, he said.